Red Queen
by CortexiphanTulips
Summary: A collection of One-Shots
1. Canoe Trip

Honestly, they were getting nowhere and Ruby could see tension visibly building in Regina's shoulder blades as she tried to explain why Ruby needed to switch sides after each stroke instead of repeatedly pulling the paddle through the water on the righthand side and steering them off course. Ruby of course knew and understood all of this, but kept getting distracted when the wind blew through Regina's hair and brought the sweet smell of her apple shampoo back to Ruby's extremely sensitive nose. At least they'd rented a fairly sturdy canoe, so when Ruby jumped at loud noises that echoed off the hills enclosing the valley surrounding them they didn't topple over. Regina sighed and turned to look back at the younger woman, trying to keep a handle on her rather famous temper while at the same time wishing Ruby would focus. They weren't that far from the little alcove Regina had planned to stop for their picnic and she knew if they could just get there any frustration would be soon forgotten. In all honesty Regina knew she could forgive Ruby of almost anything, Ruby could bring a whole new meaning to the phrase 'puppy-dog eyes'.

They'd both stopped paddling and were slowly drifting to a stop so Regina smiled and said, "Okay, let's give this one more shot," before turning her back again.

Determined to stay focused this time, Ruby took a deep breath and held it in as they started, reasoning that if she just got into the rhythm of things being distracted wouldn't be as harmful. Regina was pleased as they doubled their speed and soon turned to find themselves with a great view of the bay. Ruby let the air out of her lungs with a rush as they coasted towards the shore. Two more strokes and Ruby splashed into the knee deep water to pull the canoe the rest of the way up to the shore. Regina grabbed their little basket and climbed out onto the beach, smiling as Ruby tied off the canoe before bouncing back over to her.

"How deep is this lagoon?" Ruby asked peering up at the cliffs, where she knew people jumped from fairly often.

It was a little high for the former queen's tastes but clearly not for the adventuresome waitress. "I've seen people jump from there and be just fine," Regina pointed. "You just have to make sure you jump far enough out."

A giant smile flashed across Ruby's face, amazing Regina with how the already glowing Ruby could look even better when happy.

"Help me lay out all this stuff before you go swimming," Regina said, holding up the basket.

The pulled out the blanket for Regina to sit so she was facing the small cliff and would be able to watch Ruby jump and Ruby stripped off her shirt, bending down to leave the shirt next to Regina before stealing a kiss and jogging away, headed up to the jump off point in a red bikini top a few shades darker than the streaks in her hair.

Regina stretched out further under the warm sun closing her eyes to soak it in, knowing it would take even the agile Ruby a few minutes to climb up to the jumping off point. She found herself humming one of the songs Ruby liked to listen to while cleaning their kitchen and smiled, opening her eyes just in time to see her appear at the edge of the cliff.

Ruby looked down at the water then glanced over to Regina who'd just tilted her head back and shaded her eyes to look up at her smiling. Ruby smiled back then backed up to make her jump. Her stomach flew up into her mouth as she fell and she let out a little yelp just before she hit the water and plunged down into the cool darkness. She sank until she reached the bottom and then pushed off to burst up and fill her lungs with air once more. Regina clapped from the shore and Ruby scooped up some water in her mouth to squirt it out at her before shaking her head and swimming back to the picnic they'd laid out with something other than food on her mind.


	2. The Office

Ruby knew the rest of the town didn't understand why she chose to be with Regina. Granny in particular had vocally expressed her disapproval at great length until Ruby had quietly mentioned that Regina wasn't the only one with blood on her hands and walked out. She'd cried herself to sleep that night in Regina's arms as the older woman cradled her and made soothing noises. The others could judge them all they want- what got Ruby through a day was Regina waiting at home for her at night. They all thought that because they'd forgiven her for Peter, she didn't have guilt; they thought that because Regina had once been corrupted by her magic, it hadn't bothered her at all when she'd been forced to kill Daniel. Ruby knew she wasn't perfect; they shared their bloody past and together had a hope for a peaceful future, at least if the town could ever began to see past its' prejudices.

And so that afternoon, Ruby ignored the side glances and headed into the mayor's office. Regina wasn't officially the mayor anymore, but the town hadn't elected anyone new yet as they'd fallen back to letting Charming and Snow organize things like they'd used to. So when Ruby couldn't find Regina at home she always checked here first.

She knew she'd guessed right when the sweet scent of apples mixed with the other smell that was unique to Regina hit her very sensitive nose, making it itch just before she opened the door to the office. Regina heard her come in and looked up from behind the desk as she walked in.

"Ruby." She smiled, setting down the pen she was using to mark paperwork.

Ruby didn't ask what she was working on, worried she would either be reminding her she didn't technically have a job anymore or that she'd receive an answer that she wouldn't really understand. Ruby had spent high school getting into trouble and sleeping around… Well, she guessed that hadn't really happened because of the curse. What she'd actually done was waitress for twenty-eight years without aging. Either way education hadn't been her highest priority. She wasn't stupid, she just hadn't cared.

"Did we have an appointment?"

Ruby shook her head and rolled her eyes at the question, no doubt it was Regina's polite way of asking people what the hell they were doing in her office while she was working.

"Do I need an appointment?" Ruby asked, tilting her head and sideling around the desk to sit slowly on Regina's lap, giving her time to lean back in the chair and raise an eyebrow. Ruby shifted her weight to get comfortable before pressing her lips against Regina's for a deep kiss. Ruby liked having Regina pinned down this way, captive in her arms. She broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Regina's to sigh, "Mine."

Regina let out a laugh at this, pushing forward against the younger woman, reclaiming her mouth and shifting Ruby forward against the desk. They fumbled awkwardly as they worked to push Regina's chair back more and Ruby moved to sit on the desk, trying to complete both tasks without separating. Finally Regina stood between Ruby's legs, trailing her right hand up Ruby's thigh as they kissed so lightly it almost tickled at the same time as it sent goosebumps up Ruby's spine.

"You should not make appointments more often," Regina breathed when they broke apart momentarily for air as Ruby started unbuttoning Regina's shirt. Ruby growled softly in agreement grabbing Regina's hips and pulling the woman closer to her.

It was then that the phone rang. Ruby's growl deepened when Regina pulled away from her, reaching to the side to pick it up, but she didn't try and stop her. For now she was content as long as Regina continued to stroke her leg with her free hand. Later she could get payment for this interruption. Ruby grinned wolfishly at that idea and leaned back to prop herself up on her hands. She only needed to rub her leg against Regina's to keep a reminder in Regina's head that wrapping up this phone call as quickly as possible was in her best interest.


	3. Dinner

Ruby's heels clicked on the wood floor as she entered the front hall and closed the door behind her. The house smelled like roast beef, making her mouth salivate even though she'd just left the diner which had smelled like food for the last eight hours. She set her keys and purse on the end table gently and slid the high-heels off with a grateful sigh. Why she continued to wear the most uncomfortable shoes she came across each day was beyond her, although they certainly did look nice. Even knowing how her feet felt now, holding the red pumps in her hands she knew she would buy them again. Oh well, everyone has a vice right? She left the shoes by the door before padding back towards the kitchen, following the smell of food.

Regina was bent over slipping a pie into the oven when Ruby walked in and Ruby took a second to appreciate the view, tilting her head and waiting until Regina straightened back up again to smile fully.

"You're just in time," Regina said, placing the pot holders on her hands to the left of the stove before walking back behind the island where roast beef, salad and potatoes were laid out waiting to be taken out to the dining room table. "The food is hot, the pie is in the oven, our martinis are on the table…" Regina surveyed the counter, assessing all that was laid out.

"You forgot something," Ruby commented, walking around the counter slowly, carefully moving in until she was almost touching Regina and they were just a hair-length apart. There was an electricity between them as they paused this way, urging them together.

"What's that?" Regina asked, watching as Ruby did her usual head tilt, shook her head ever so slightly and leaned in for a kiss. Regina smiled into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Ruby's waist to maintain physical contact as Ruby pulled back from the kiss again.

"Mmm, even better than roast beef," Ruby commented, leaning back in and nipping at Regina's neck gently.

Regina let out a throaty laugh that sent shivers up Ruby's spine, but shook her head and said, "Dinner first," before kissing Ruby one last time and stepping back to pick up one of the serving dishes. She walked into the dining room with it, leaving Ruby to follow her, which she of course did after a sigh, picking up the salad and potatoes as she walked past them.

Regina had made good with her promise of martinis, there was a glass next to the two place settings, separated only by the food they set down and a single white candle. They sat and Ruby took a nervous gulp at her drink before noticing Regina was holding her glass out for a toast. Ruby winced and smiled sheepishly as Regina raised an eyebrow, then leaned in to clink her glass gently against the one offered. Ruby took another smaller sip after their toast before setting the glass back down and turning to the food, feeling insecure. Sometimes it was painfully clear to Ruby that she was the waitress who liked to drink and party and whose grandmother had once accused of trying to sleep her way down the eastern seaboard and Regina was the better educated, more respected mayor of their town. But then Regina brushed her foot past Ruby's calf and smiled coyly when Ruby looked back up to meet her eyes and suddenly everything made sense again. The world stopped for a moment as they smiled at each other and then shaking their heads they turned back to their dinner and slowly began to eat.


	4. Camping

Ruby was standing over a freshly started fire brushing her teeth and watching the carefully balanced pot of water when Regina crawled out of their tent groaning. Ruby smiled at her taking in the disheveled hair and the pajamas she'd brought along despite Ruby telling her to bring as little as possible as they had to carry everything in their backpacks. Regina glared up at the younger woman whose dark hair was pulled back into an easy ponytail that hid almost all of her red streaks, but received only a happy grin in return. Ruby was wearing shorts, a tank top and, apart from the hiking boots on her feet and the toothbrush in her mouth, looked like she could have been having a regular day back in Storybrooke.

"As soon as the water boils I'll make you some coffee," Ruby promised, clearly quite enjoying the usually sophisticated former-mayor's grumpy attitude and disheveled appearance.

Regina stood and walked over to Ruby as the younger woman spit out her toothpaste and returned the toothbrush to her pack. "You owe me so much for this trip," Regina told her, wrapping her arms around Ruby's slender waist and bumping her chin on Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby chuckled and twisted around to face Regina, draping her arms over her shoulders before answering, "You know I'd be happy to pay you back in sexual favors," and kissing Regina as she smiled at Ruby's offer. They stood there kissing for a moment before Ruby broke the kiss and added, "In fact I'd start right now if I didn't hear the kid coming back," before pulling back from her lover so that when Henry appeared at their campsite from his climb back up from the lake Ruby was fixing a cup of coffee for Regina who was stretching and trying to get the kink out of her back from sleeping on a root last night.

"Mom," Henry said, giving her one of his best incredulous expressions as he asked, "Are you just getting up?"

She laughed and shook her head at him, neither agreeing with or denying his accusation as he toweled off.

"Ruby, I'm starving," he added hopping over to the younger woman who handed him a cup of hot chocolate before offering Regina her coffee and pulling out a pan to heat up breakfast for the three of them. "Are you coming swimming with me after breakfast?" Henry asked, perching on a log and wrapping his towel around his skinny shoulders to keep himself warm as he waited for breakfast.

"Sure Henry," Regina agreed, taking a sip of her coffee and reveling in the feeling of contentment that rolled lazily through her. The sun was beating down on her family, Henry was happy and the caffeine would soon wake her up fully. It was a rare day for Regina for something to be so happy, pure and unspoiled by other people. She planned on taking advantage of every moment.


	5. The Flu

Ruby lay sprawled out across her and Regina's bed in a thin lacy teddy in her trademark red color. Regina could see the younger woman from their bathroom tapping her feet gently against the bed as she waited for Regina to finish washing her face and come join her. Regina suspected that Ruby had chosen the teddy in a tactical maneuver to get Regina into bed as quickly as possible. It would have worked if Henry didn't have the flu and Regina hadn't spent the last hour trying to get him to sleep. All Regina wanted to do now is curl up in bed.

Regina finally finished rubbing the softly scented lotion Ruby had bought for her birthday onto her hands and headed into the bedroom. Ruby smiled up at her before rolling over to her side of the bed so Regina could slide in beneath the covers. Once Regina was settled, Ruby draped two of her long limbs over the older woman and snuggled into her shoulder with a deep sigh.

Regina tilted her head down for a kiss before resettling back down on the pillows and closing her eyes against the light she'd forgotten to turn off, trusting that Ruby would shut them off before falling asleep herself. She considered for a moment getting up and doing it herself, but her eyes had begun to burn from overuse and the bed was so comfortable- not to mention Ruby was warm beside her, so instead she sighed contentedly and rubbed small circles into Ruby's back.

When Regina awoke Ruby's side of the bed was empty. She propped herself up to look around the room for the younger woman, just as the bathroom door opened and Ruby stepped out wearing Regina's robe.

"Henry threw up on me." Ruby replied to the question written across Regina's face without it having to be vocalized. "I got him back in bed and he fell right back asleep, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you checked in on him," Ruby added, toweling off her hair as she crossed to the dresser to hunt for new clothes.

Regina climbed out of bed and headed to go check on Henry, planting a kiss on Ruby's cheek as she walked past. "Henry?" she asked softly as she stepped into the room.

"Mom?" he mumbled, rolling over to look at her through bleary eyes. "I had a bad dream."

"It's okay, I'm here now," she reassured him, smoothing the blue blanket that covered him and tucking him in like she had when he was small. "Go back to sleep, sweetie," she added, pushing his messy brown hair out of his eyes and planting a kiss on his warm forehead.

He smiled up at her with trust in his eyes, before closing them once again and letting out a soft sigh as he fell back asleep.

"Hey," Ruby called quietly from the doorway. "How's he doing?"

"Better I think," Regina replied in a voice barely above a whisper, knowing Ruby would be able to hear her perfectly regardless. "You know," she added, returning to the doorway and then looking back at her sleeping son. "I think, at least in part, why he came back to me is because he saw you see the good in me," Regina confided. "I never thanked you for that."

"If I can remember, with all of the people I have killed, that _I_ am not a monster…" Ruby trailed off, struggling to find the right words as she draped her arms around Regina's neck. "I thought there must be hope for you too." The waitress leaned in and kissed Regina gently. "And anyone can see how much you love him. I'm sure he would have come back to you eventually, with or without me."

"I'm glad it was with you," Regina confessed and pulled Ruby back in for another kiss.


End file.
